franz fripplfrappl wrote:

On Sat, 19 Jan 2008 09:40:37 -0600, Steve IA wrote:


xposted: alt.energy.homepower,alt.home.repair.misc.rural

Our average electricity usage for the last 6 years for December is 653
kwh with a range of 120. December 07 our usage was 682 kwh. This would
not have been unusual except for the fact that, due to an ice storm, we
had NO electricity for 6.5 days. Billing cycle per the bill was 31
days. I was expecting a bill 20% lower than the average bill and was
dismayed when it was actually higher. So far this month of January, we
are using at the about average rate (22kwh/day) as we did in December,
the only odd thing is that we had NO power of nearly a week in December.
I've spoken with a few neighbors who also lost power and 'come to think
of it' their bill went up or didn't go down as much as they would have
expected for a 20-25% time of no usage. I ask the REC and they said we
'just used more'. They also tried to blame 'recovery usage'. I'm not
buying it. They claim they didn't estimate the bill and when I received
the bill I immediately checked and the meter reading seemed in line with
normal. I'm talking KWH her not $$ which can be affected by rate
changes, surcharge and taxes etc.

Facts:
During the ice storm we used a gas generator intermittently during the
daylight to power the freezer, tv, occasional PC and a few lights . We
relied 100% on wood heat, never falling below 60F. For the entire
billing period we did nothing that we can think of unusual that would
increase the consumption over the previous December. No extra Xmas
lights, no 'recovery' usage after power restoration other than 1
refrigerator .
Normal is LP furnace supplemented by high efficiency wood fireplace. Gas
water heater and stove.
Elec clothes dryer.
1 powered outbuilding.
We live ¼ mile away from nearest neighbor so no chance of somebody
running an extension cord and stealing from us.

After receiving the bill, I shut the power off below the meter and it
quit turning. We've done some other testing by turning off house circuit
breakers and watching the meter but have isolated nothing unusual yet.
With all house breakers off the meter stops. I have purchase a Kill-a
-Watt and have begun looking for the energy thief. I've found nothing
yet, although the KAW is fun and interesting.

Where would the electricity go?
When reconnecting the lines, can a 'surge' spin the meter forward?
Previously we had 2 lines coming into our neighborhood, both lines fell
but only 1 was reconnected to restore power. Can this have any bearing?
What am I missing?
What other testing can I do?

Your thoughts and comments appreciated.

Steve IA





Check your utility bill to see if it is an estimate or direct read. Some
utilities try to save money by not reading meters every month. Instead
they take an average. Any differences are made up in subsequent billing
cycles.

Have you called the utility to find out what they think?

Also check that there were the same number of days in the billing cycle.

And consider the fact that furnace fans can be a big user of power
(during the period when the power WAS on).

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